Best Law Firm Websites, It’s All About Design

The Best Law Firm Websites

You knew when you became a lawyer that you would have to look the part—whether you aspired to be a District Attorney, Matlock, or Atticus Finch. What you might not have bargained for — depending on when you went to law school — was that your website also has to look the part.

There is no denying that the best law firm websites are the most well-designed websites. Great design is at the crux of any successful website. And a successful website means more business. So, what do the best law firm websites have in common?

Best Law Firm Websites: Careful Branding

Branding is just as important for lawyers as it is for small businesses and mega-corporations. Your website should tell us who you and your clients are immediately on the home page. Your brand and value proposition should be evident through all of the elements of your site. Your content, images, color scheme, and font choices should all send the same message. Here’s an example of a clear brand message:

Best Law Firm Websites: Clear Call To Action

Your home page needs to do a lot of work. But, above all, you want it to inspire visitors to take action. Do you want people to contact you? Then that should be the driving message of your home page. Don’t clutter the space up with overly long sales pitches. You want your site to say “This is the firm.” Not “please hire us, and here is a list of why and who we are.”

Best Law Firm Websites: Clean and Bold

The inevitable conclusion is that a lean design is more appealing if you are to make a bold statement and inspire potential clients to action. If you want someone to take an apple, you only offer them an apple. If you have a lot of information on the screen, it’s harder for people to absorb your message (which is to hire you). Particularly for people who might be feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or out of their element. This law firm’s site takes advantage of the possible stress their potential clients might feel by taking a calming approach:

Best Law Firm Websites: The Camera Loves You

Your bio page will be the most visited on your site, so make it look great. Use current photos that are professionally shot and similarly lighted if you have partners and staff. Keep your bios short and sweet. You’re not applying for a seat on the Supreme Court. You are enticing potential clients. Pare down your bio to the most interesting facts and include them. Also, since you know that your website visitors are going to be curious about who you are, you could take advantage of that fact. Make you and your team the focus of your site like this firm did:

Best Law Firm Websites: Responsive Designs

It’s not a coincidence that all of these tips and tricks — bold messaging, clean designs, clear calls to action, nice photos — will also make your site look great on phones and tablet. Since that’s the way most people are browsing the web now, your site has to adjust to all of the different screen sizes and devices. Nothing is more frustrating than a site that’s hard to size … except for one that gets obscured by pop-ups.

Best Law Firm Websites: Look the Part

If there’s one thing movies have taught us about lawyers, it’s that you can handle the truth. So, here it is:

1. Decide what kind of law firm you are and brand yourself as such
2. Make it clear to your visitors what you want them to do when they get to your site
3. Go with a design that gives your potential clients one choice, to hire you
4. Highlight your team with professional headshots and hard-hitting bios
5. Cater to the crowd by making your website accessible on all devices and browsers

Whether you have several areas of expertise with a large team, or you concentrate on a particular area of law, there’s a way to make that evident to your audience through great design.

Is Yours One of the Best?

If you think your website deserves to be featured in a “Best of” article, please contact us. Your site may just get featured in a future article.